President’s Message

March 29, 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I, along with many of you, attended the March For Our Lives on Saturday, March 24th. I was so impressed and inspired by the young, articulate, passionate students who spoke and performed. I credit not only their families, but I must also give credit to you, their teachers, for instilling in them the power to lead. I truly appreciate them for their leadership at this time, and I appreciate you for your role in creating such amazing students.

One of the messages that I heard is that we can no longer sit by and wait for others to solve our problems. We have to get involved, take an active role in the solution. And that is where I believe it relates to our union. I would encourage all of you to get involved with our union. Our union is all of us, working together to improve the conditions for teaching and learning. As you begin to think about next year please consider taking a more active role in your union. It may be just attending the Roundup in the fall, attending a site rep meeting, volunteering to be your school’s site representative, or running for a leadership position, even president! We are all just volunteers. Imagine the improvements we could make with all of us working together!

March Update:

Elementary teachers Denise Emerson, Katherine Kirby, Pam Richerson and I met with Dr. Prater and his team in March for a third CRT meeting (Conflict Resolution Team). I believe the results of our meeting were substantive and successful. Elementary teachers were seeking some relief from the many evening obligations required of them, and I believe that through the CRT process we were able to give them the relief that they were seeking. You can read the document “Evening Expectations for Elementary Teachers” at our SLCTA.org website.

Our stipend committee members Jim Johnson, Rodger Milborne, Mike Godsey, Terri Norlock, John Andree, and Kate Stephens, worked diligently with a team of administrators, over the past year to develop a new, and much improved stipend system. If you see them please thank them profusely for all of their time and effort they provided in producing the new stipend system. In April we will be holding a meeting of the general membership to answer any questions you may have about the new system. Before the meeting we will have the new stipend document available to view on our SLCTA.org website where you can compare new with old.

SLCTA is currently accepting applications for candidates to run for leadership positions in our union. The following offices are open for next year: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, 4-6 Elementary Member-at-Large, High School Member-at-Large, Specialist Member-at-Large.

I will end where I began. Please listen to our new leaders-our own students. Get involved, be part of the solution, don’t wait for someone else to solve your problems.

Enjoy your spring break!

Respectfully,

Matt

January 23, 2018

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Happy New Year! I first want to take this opportunity to thank you for all of the hard work that you do for the students in our district. It continues to be my honor to work with a group of such dedicated people.

Now I would like to update you regarding the activities of your union.

Your Executive Board, under the leadership of Kristin Nusbaum, met to put together the Climate Survey. The Climate Survey will guide the Executive Board in their work representing and supporting all SLCTA members. The survey will be coming to your home email in February. Be sure to participate, as it is your input on that survey which will determine your union’s priorities.

During the last few months your president and his team have been in talks with district officials regarding particular areas of our contract that needed our attention. We came to agreement on three separate MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding). These three MOUs benefit our membership in different ways:

the voluntary transfer process has been improved;

the retirement benefits of certain members have been safeguarded and improved;

Paycheck schedule change: all members will be paid eleven times a year instead of the current ten starting August 2018.

Our Membership Engagement Committee has had a busy Fall. They put on the 2nd annual Fall Roundup, a fun, well-attended get-together of SLCTA members and their families at the barn on Foothill. They also organized and sponsored a total of three SLCTA Meet and Greets with board members. Our members got to chat with most of the current school board members in a relaxed setting at the Laguna Grill. Currently, the Membership Engagement Committee is hard at work planning and organizing the Sixth Annual Bingo Scholarship Fundraiser night that will be held Friday, March 16, 2018. Be sure to attend, as it’s a lot of fun and for a great cause.

In my new role as president I had the opportunity to visit almost every school site. I introduced myself and listened to members’ concerns. Also, over the past few months I have been able to listen to and support individual teachers who were struggling. In this new role I have learned rather quickly that the support that SLCTA is able give members is important, and the union support allows them to be more successful in their role as teachers. Please always remember that we’ve got your back.

Your president and his team met with the superintendent and his team at their first CRT (Conflict Resolution Team) meeting in December. The goal of the meeting was to standardize, and possibly reduce, the number of evening obligations placed upon our elementary teachers. The issue is currently being investigated by principals with their staffs and will also be the topic of our next CRT in February.

Your site reps meet once a month at the site rep council meeting. These meetings serve a very important role in the functioning of our union. The meetings act as two way communication between SLCTA leadership and our membership. Please thank your site rep for taking on this vital role, and maybe even offer to attend in their place if they are unable to make it to the monthly meeting. Your school needs representation at every meeting. Remember that the union is all of us.

Have a great 2018!

Sincerely,

Matt Moore

SLCTA President

November 8, 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Following our recent paycheck schedule survey, SLCTA has been in discussions with district administration regarding the issue of number of paychecks. We are scheduled to be paid over 11 months starting next year. However, many of you mentioned wanting the option of being paid 12 times a year. There is a 12 paycheck option that is currently available to us. It is technically 11 month pay, with deferred pay for the 12th month (no interest earned by the employee).

Therefore, SLCTA has decided to survey our membership again with the 12 pay option included in the survey. The decision of which paycheck schedule we get in the future will be based on what the majority of us want. So it is vital that you vote, that way we can represent your interests. Our last vote had 57 percent of our membership vote, so please do what you can to encourage ALL members to vote so we get valid representation.

The district administration have requested that all certificated 186 day employees are on the same pay schedule.

Thanks for all that you do for our students.

Sincerely,

Matt Moore, SLCTA president

The survey will be coming soon and will basically look like the following:

Below is a table comparing the two different pay options of a teacher earning an annual salary of $75,000. These figures are estimates and are intended to assist you in making an informed decision for yourself.

annual salary of $75,000

11 pay

August – June

11 pay deferred (12 pay)

July – June

Monthly gross salary

$6818.18

*Monthly gross salary

$6250

*The 11 pay deferred option would deduct 568.18 per month from an 11 month salary, put that money into an account and write a check for the twelfth pay period. The school district, not the employee, will earn the interest on that money. If the employee were to choose 11 pay instead then invest the 568.18 themselves in SESLOC’s School Employees Level Pay Account, which currently pays 0.2% interest per year, the $568.18 invested monthly in SESLOC’s account would earn the employee approximately $10 over the course of a year.

September 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Congratulations on finishing week 1! My name is Matt Moore and I am your new SLCTA president. I want to thank you for the honor and privilege of being your new union president. I also want to thank you for all that you do for our students and their families, our schools, and our communities. Through your hard work and dedication, you have created amazing schools that are not only rigorous, but maybe even more importantly, fun and inspiring places for students to learn. Because of you, children enjoy coming to school and their parents recognize that. We truly have outstanding schools here on the central coast of California. So the next time somebody says how great the central coast is and they mention our terrific climate, the beauty of our hills, our amazing beaches, the fantastic downtown, etc…, rest assured that even though our schools go unmentioned, people would not choose to live here unless they could also have access to the amazing schools that you and your colleagues dedicate yourselves to each and every day. So again, thank you!

I look forward to working with you and representing all of you. It’s my plan to meet with you at your site during the next couple of months to get to know you and listen to your questions and concerns.

Sincerely,

Matt Moore

SLCTA President

Some facts about me:

I was born and raised in San Luis Obispo. (I graduated from SLO High!)

I currently teach 3rd grade at Bishop’s Peak Elementary.

I have taught at 5 different elementary schools in our district over the past 20 years.

I have been an elementary teacher for over 30 years.

I have lived and worked on four different continents.

I am married and have three children currently in college.

Things you should know:

We are currently in the 2nd year of our 3-year contract. That means you should start thinking about issues that you would like to have the negotiations team bargain for next year. As you think about issues, also think about possible solutions.

You should soon receive a Member Benefits Highlights booklet. Put a sticky note on it that says, “Don’t Throw Away!” and keep it somewhere where you won’t lose it. In it you will learn about many, many ways to save a lot of money. More on this later.

Save the date: Friday, October 6th, 4:00-7:00. The 2nd annual awesome SLCTA Roundup! (at the barn on the corner of Foothill and Los Osos Valley Road).